Constance Bennett Explained

Constance Bennett
Birth Name:Constance Campbell Bennett
Birth Date:22 October 1904
Birth Place:New York City, U.S.
Death Place:Fort Dix, New Jersey, U.S.
Resting Place:Arlington National Cemetery
Occupation:Actress
Years Active:1916 - 1965
Spouse:
    Children:3
    Parents:Richard Bennett
    Adrienne Morrison
    Relatives:Lewis Morrison (maternal grandfather)
    Barbara Bennett (sister)
    Joan Bennett (sister)
    Morton Downey Jr. (nephew)

    Constance Campbell Bennett (October 22, 1904 – July 24, 1965) was an American stage, film, radio, and television actress and producer. She was a major Hollywood star during the 1920s and 1930s; during the early 1930s, she was the highest-paid actress in Hollywood. Bennett frequently played society women, focusing on melodramas in the early 1930s and then taking more comedic roles in the late 1930s and 1940s. She is best remembered for her leading roles in What Price Hollywood? (1932), Bed of Roses (1933), Topper (1937), Topper Takes a Trip (1938), and had a prominent supporting role in Greta Garbo's last film, Two-Faced Woman (1941).[1]

    She was the daughter of stage and silent film star Richard Bennett, and the elder sister of actress Joan Bennett.[1]

    Early life

    Bennett was born in New York City, the eldest of three daughters of actress Adrienne Morrison and actor Richard Bennett. Her younger sisters were actresses Joan Bennett and Barbara Bennett. All three girls attended the Chapin School in New York. [2]

    Career

    After some time spent in a convent, Bennett entered acting, Constance, the first Bennett sister to enter motion pictures, appeared in New York–produced silent movies before a meeting with Samuel Goldwyn led to her Hollywood debut in Cytherea (1924). She abandoned a career in silent films for marriage to Philip Plant in 1925 but resumed her film career after their divorce in 1929. With the advent of talking pictures, she quickly revived her career.

    In the early 1930s, Bennett was frequently among the top actresses named in audience popularity and box-office polls. In 1931, a short-lived contract with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer earned her $300,000 for two movies which included The Easiest Way and made her one of the highest-paid stars in Hollywood. Warner Brothers paid her the all-time high salary of $30,000 a week for Bought! in 1931.[3] Richard Bennett, her father, was also cast in this film.

    The next year she moved to RKO, where she acted in What Price Hollywood? (1932), directed by George Cukor, a behind-the-scenes looks at the Hollywood studio system, in which she portrayed waitress Mary Evans, who becomes a movie star. Lowell Sherman co-starred as the film director who discovers her, and Neil Hamilton as the wealthy playboy she marries who later divorces her. The film Morning Glory had been written with Bennett in mind for the lead role, but producer Pandro S. Berman gave the role to Katharine Hepburn, who won an Academy Award for her performance.

    During her time at RKO, Bennett briefly became the highest-paid actress in Hollywood. RKO controlled the careers of actresses Ann Harding and Helen Twelvetrees in a similar manner, hoping to duplicate Bennett's success.[4]

    Bennett next showed her versatility in the likes of Our Betters (1933), writer/director Gregory La Cava's Bed of Roses (1933) with Pert Kelton, After Tonight (1933, co-starring with future husband Gilbert Roland), The Affairs of Cellini (1934), After Office Hours (1935) with Clark Gable, Topper (1937, as Marian Kerby opposite Cary Grant, a role she repeated in the 1939 sequel, Topper Takes a Trip), the madcap family comedy Merrily We Live (1938) and Two-Faced Woman (1941, supporting Greta Garbo).

    By the 1940s, Bennett was working less frequently in film but was in demand in both radio and theatre. She had her own program, Constance Bennett Calls on You, on ABC radio in 1945–1946.[5] In 1945–1946, she hosted The Constance Bennett Show on ABC Radio.[6]

    She had a major supporting role in The Unsuspected (1947), in which she played Jane Moynihan, the program director who helps prove that radio host Victor Grandison (Claude Rains) is guilty of murder. In the 1950s, As Young as You Feel (1951) found her playing opposite Marilyn Monroe. Bennett played herself in a cameo in It Should Happen to You (1954). In 1957–1958, she toured the United States in the title role of Auntie Mame.[7] Bennett made her final screen appearance in the 1965 film Madame X (released posthumously in 1966), as the blackmailing mother-in-law.

    Personal life

    Bennett was married five times and had three children.

    Chester Hirst Moorehead

    On June 15, 1921, Bennett eloped with Chester Hirst Moorehead of Chicago, a student at the University of Virginia[8] who was the son of oral surgeon, Frederick Moorehead.[9] They were married by a justice of the peace in Greenwich, Connecticut. Bennett was 16 at the time.[8] [10] [11] A New York Times article reporting the elopement observed: "The parents of Miss Bennett were opposed to their marriage at this time solely on account of their youth."[8] The marriage was annulled in 1923.[12] [13]

    Philip Morgan Plant

    Bennett's next serious relationship was with millionaire socialite Philip Morgan Plant. Her parents planned a cruise to Europe, taking Constance with them, to separate the couple. As the ship was preparing to leave port, however, the Bennetts saw Plant and his parents boarding, too. A contemporary newspaper article reported, "Now the little beauty and the heir to all the Plant millions were assured a week of the cosy intimacy which an ocean liner affords."[14] In November 1925, the two eloped and were married in Greenwich, Connecticut, by the same justice of the peace who officiated at Bennett's wedding to Moorehead.[15] They divorced in a French court[16] in 1929.[17]

    In 1932, Bennett returned from Europe with a three-year-old child, whom she claimed to have adopted and named Peter Bennett Plant (born 1929). In 1942, however, during a battle over a large trust fund established to benefit any descendants of her former husband, Bennett announced that her adopted son actually was her natural child by Plant, born after the divorce and kept hidden to ensure that the child's biological father did not get custody. During the court hearings, the actress told her former mother-in-law and her husband's widow that "if she got to the witness stand she would give a complete account of her life with Plant." The matter was settled out of court.[18] [19]

    Henri de la Falaise

    In 1931, Bennett made headlines when she married one of Gloria Swanson's former husbands, Henri le Bailly, the Marquis de La Coudraye de La Falaise, a French nobleman and film director. She and de la Falaise founded Bennett Pictures Corp. and co-produced two films which were the Hollywood films shot in the two-strip Technicolor process, (1935) filmed on location in Bali, and Kilou the Killer Tiger (1936), filmed in Indochina. The couple divorced in Reno, Nevada in 1940.[20]

    Gilbert Roland and John Theron Coulter

    Bennett's fourth marriage was to actor Gilbert Roland. They were married in 1941 and had two daughters, Lorinda "Lynda" and Christina "Gyl".[21] They divorced in 1946, with Bennett winning custody of their children. Later that year, Bennett married for the fifth and final time to US Air Force Colonel John Theron Coulter.[22] After her marriage, she concentrated her efforts on providing relief entertainment to US troops still stationed in Europe, winning military honors for her services. Bennett and Coulter remained married for the rest of her life. Bennett supported Barry Goldwater in the 1964 United States presidential election.[23]

    Death

    Bennett died on July 24, 1965, aged 60. As the wife of John Theron Coulter, who had achieved the rank of brigadier general, she was buried in Arlington National Cemetery. Coulter died in 1995 and was buried with her.[24]

    Legacy

    Bennett has a motion pictures star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for her contributions to the film industry. Her star is located at 6250 Hollywood Boulevard,[25] a short distance from the star of her sister, Joan.

    Filmography

    Silent films
    YearTitleRoleNotes
    1916The Valley of DecisionUnborn soulLost film
    1922Reckless YouthChorus Girl
    EvidenceEdithLost film
    What's Wrong with the Women?Elise BascomLost film
    1924CythereaAnnette ShermanLost film
    Into the NetMadge Clayton, his sisterLost film
    1925The Goose Hangs HighLois IngalsLost film
    Code of the WestGeorgie MayLost film
    My SonBetty SmithLost film
    My Wife and IAileen AltonLost film
    The Goose WomanHazel Woods
    Wandering FiresGuerda Anthony
    Sally, Irene and MarySally
    The Pinch HitterAbby Nettleton
    1926Married ?Marcia Livingston
    Sound films
    YearTitleRoleNotes
    1929Rich PeopleConnie Hayden
    This Thing Called LoveAnn MarvinLost film
    1930Son of the GodsAllana
    Three Faces EastFrances Hawtree / Z-1
    Common ClayEllen Neal
    Sin Takes a HolidaySylvia Brenner
    1931The Easiest WayLaura Murdock
    Born to LoveDoris Kendall
    The Common LawValerie West
    Bought!Stephanie Dale
    1932Screen SnapshotsHerselfShort Subject
    Lady with a PastVenice Muir
    What Price Hollywood?Mary Evans
    Two Against the WorldMiss Adele 'Dell' Hamilton
    RockabyeJudy Carroll
    1933Our BettersLady Pearl Grayston
    Bed of RosesLorry Evans
    After TonightCarla Vanirska, aka K-14 and Karen Schöntag
    1934Moulin RougeHelen Hall / Raquel
    The Affairs of CelliniDuchess of Florence
    Outcast LadyIris
    1935After Office HoursSharon Norwood
    LegongProducer only
    Starlit Days at the Lido[26] HerselfShort subject
    1936 Everything Is ThunderAnna von Stucknadel
    Ladies in LoveYoli Haydn
    1937Daily Beauty RitualsHerselfShort subject
    TopperMarion Kerby
    1938Merrily We LiveJerry Kilbourne
    Service de LuxeHelen Murphy
    Topper Takes a TripMarion Kerby
    1939Tail SpinGerry Lester
    1940Escape to GloryChristine Blaine
    1941Law of the TropicsJoan Madison
    Picture People No. 2: Hollywood SportsHerselfShort subject
    Two-Faced WomanGriselda Vaughn
    1942Wild Bill Hickok RidesBelle Andrews
    Hedda Hopper's Hollywood No. 5HerselfShort subject
    Sin TownKye Allen
    Madame SpyJoan Bannister
    1945Paris UndergroundKitty de MornayAlso produced
    1946Centennial SummerZenia Lascalles
    1947The UnsuspectedJane Moynihan
    1948Smart WomanPaula Rogers
    Angel on the AmazonDr. Karen Lawrence
    1951As Young as You FeelLucille McKinley
    1954It Should Happen To YouGuest Panelist
    1966Madame XEstelleReleased posthumously

    External links

    Notes and References

    1. Book: Kellow, Brian . 2004 . The Bennetts: An Acting Family . registration . . . 978-0813123295.
    2. Book: Thomson. David. The New Biographical Dictionary of Film. 2014. Alfred A. Knopf. 9780375711848. 85. August 9, 2017. en.
    3. The Warner Bros Story - Clive Hirschhorn p. 106;
    4. Book: Leading Ladies.
    5. Book: Dunning, John . On the Air: The Encyclopedia of Old-Time Radio . John Dunning (detective fiction author) . 1998 . Oxford University Press . New York, NY . 978-0-19-507678-3 . 180 . Revised . 2019-10-29.
    6. Book: Terrace. Vincent. Radio Programs, 1924-1984: A Catalog of More Than 1800 Shows. 1999. McFarland & Company, Inc.. 978-0-7864-4513-4. 82.
    7. Book: Jordan, Richard Tyler. But Darling, I'm Your Auntie Mame!: The Amazing History of the World's Favorite Madcap Aunt. 2004. Kensington Books. 978-0-7582-0482-0. en.
    8. News: Motor Away To Wed.. The New York Times. June 18, 1921. New York, New York City. 6. Newspapers.com. August 8, 2017.
    9. News: Proved a Nightmare. The Wilkes-Barre Times Leader, the Evening News. January 17, 1923. Pennsylvania, Wilkes-Barre. 21. Newspapers.com. August 8, 2017.
    10. An article in The Ogden Standard-Examiner in 1923 said, "They succeeded in convincing the authorities there [Greenwich, Connecticut] that she was twenty-one, instead of the bare sixteen she looked and was"
    11. An article in the Springfield Missouri Republican in 1925 also reported the misrepresentation of Bennett's age.
    12. An article in the Springfield Missouri Republican in 1925 said, "Three days later the marriage was annulled"
    13. News: Latest Child-Wife Problems in the Mansions and Slums. Springfield Missouri Republican. April 12, 1925. Missouri, Springfield. 34. Newspapers.com. August 9, 2017.
    14. News: Brought Together the Lovers They Wanted To Part. The Ogden Standard-Examiner. July 8, 1923. Utah, Ogden. 26. Newspapers.com. August 9, 2017.
    15. News: Constance Bennett Weds Philip Plant. The News-Herald. United Press. November 4, 1925. Pennsylvania, Franklin. 1. Newspapers.com. August 9, 2017.
    16. News: Constance Bennett No Longer Wife of Plant. The Iola Register. Associated Press. March 19, 1929. Kansas, Iola. 4. Newspapers.com. August 9, 2017.
    17. News: Decree Won From Millionaire, Divorcee Maps Plans for Future. Oakland Tribune. April 24, 1929. California, Oakland. 1. Newspapers.com. August 9, 2017.
    18. Web site: Domain Inquiry . Jcgi.pathfinder.com . July 23, 2017 .
    19. People: People, Nov. 29, 1943 . https://web.archive.org/web/20070930095816/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,791142-1,00.html . dead . September 30, 2007 . . November 29, 1943 . July 23, 2017.
    20. Web site: Famous people divorced in Reno (new). renodivorcehistory.org. October 15, 2015.
    21. Bennett's obituary in the Independent gives the daughters' names as "Lynda and Gyl".
    22. News: Actress Constance Bennett Dies at 59. Independent. July 26, 1965. California, Long Beach. 2. Newspapers.com. August 9, 2017.
    23. Book: When Hollywood Was Right: How Movie Stars, Studio Moguls, and Big Business Remade American Politics. 9781107650282. Critchlow. Donald T.. October 21, 2013. Cambridge University Press.
    24. Web site: Constance Bennett Coulter, American Actress, Military Wife. April 3, 2023 .
    25. Web site: Hollywood Walk of Fame - Constance Bennett . walkoffame.com . Hollywood Chamber of Commerce . November 16, 2017.
    26. Web site: Early three-strip Technicolor in HD -- Henry Busse and His Band -- Hot Lips -- Read Notes!. jackusdk. February 9, 2015. YouTube.